Microsoft denies HD DVD Xbox rumours

There was some speculation earlier this week that Microsoft is planning to release a new Xbox 360 with a built-in HD DVD drive but Microsoft announced it has no plans to do so now or in the future.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Microsoft did not unveil an Xbox console with HD DVD capabilities built-in at CES, and has no plans to do so in the future, according to an executive in Microsoft's entertainment business.

"Absolutely not," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for interactive entertainment at Microsoft, when asked Monday if an HD DVD Xbox was in the works.

Microsoft has been pushing HD DVD over Blu-ray as the format for high-definition video, but HD DVD suffered a significant setback last week when Warner Bros. said it would drop support for the format in favor of Blu-ray.

Monday during an interview at CES in Las Vegas, Bell said Microsoft is taking a more agnostic view on how to serve up HD video. He said that it's up to consumers to make a choice between the two formats, not vendors.

"We'll let the market decide how they're most interested in consuming entertainment," he said.